The name "Nellore" originates from a mythological story in the Sthala Purana, which depicts a lingam in the form of a stone under a Phyllanthus emblica (amla), or nelli tree.

Over time, the name evolved to the present-day "Nellore," reflecting the area's historical and cultural significance.

During the eighteenth century, Nellore saw wars between Najeebullah, the ruler of the area, and his brother Arcot Nawab, who received support from the British and French.

[12] For the purposes of revenue collection, the town of Nellore and the surrounding district were handed over to the British East India Company in 1781 and 1801, respectively.

These include: 21 government, 3,140 mandal and zilla parishads, 2 residential, 1,077 private, 10 model, 10 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), 106 municipal and 123 other types of schools.

[19] The major agricultural contributors to the district's gross value added (GVA) include: paddy, sugarcane, lemon, tomato, milk, meat and fisheries.

The major industrial and service contributors to the district's GVA include: construction, electricity, manufacturing, transport and education.

Tamil inscriptions also exist near the Mallam Subramanyeshwara Swamy temple, which was constructed by Rajendhra Chola during the fourteenth century.

The average annual rainfall of the district is 1,080 mm (43 in), and reaches its peak during the southwest and northeast monsoons.

These revenue divisions are divided into 38 mandals, which consist of 1,177 villages and 12 towns (urban settlements).

These airports would be built with bare minimum facilities for aircraft to operate, without compromising on safety and security.

[36] In September 2017, the government of Andhra Pradesh solicited proposals for development of a no-frills greenfield airport at Dagadarthi under a public-private partnership.

[38][39][non-primary source needed] SCL Turbo has formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) Nellore International Airport Private Limited for the construction.

[40] On January 26, 2018, during his Republic Day speech, the District Collector R. Mutyala Raju announced that the acquisition of land for the airport was nearly completed.

[42] The foundation stone was laid by then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on January 10, 2019.

[41] In July 2020, the government formally scrapped the concession agreement signed with the SCL Turbo consortium.

[40] Later in November same year, the government has invited fresh bids from national and international companies for the construction of the airport.

Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, T. Subbarami Reddy, Malli Mastan Babu, Ashwin Hebbar are also some of the popular personalities from other domains.